Safety First

While browsing the BBC website in between revising for my exams today, I came across this video. For those of you who can't see it for whatever reason, it shows the drag racer of Matt Hagan pretty much exploding on the circuit. The explosion looks horrific, however I'm delighted to say that the driver walked away unscathed.

When accidents like this happen, it reminds everyone just how far motorsport has progressed in terms of safety. Formula 1 was once notorious for fatalities; Jackie Stewart stated that there was a 1 in 3 chance of surviving a race. Today, F1 is lucky in that when accidents happen they are rarely life-threatening. The design and technological advancements in the sport are part and parcel of this fact. The regulations in F1 also aim towards driver safety, and now this is a massive priority when designing an F1 car - unlike the old days when casualties were seen as 'just one of those things'. Items such as the HANS device are also vital in protecting the drivers from injury, especially traumatic brain injuries which are common results of motor accidents on the road.

However, as much as safety is emphasised in motorsport of all forms, accidents do still happen and officials within the sport have to remain vigilant. The deaths of Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli last year highlighted this fact.

As well as driver safety, it's important to consider the safety of the spectators in the sport. Rallying for example is renowned for its spectator friendly atmosphere, allowing people to get tantalisingly close to the cars. However, while this is a great spectacle and hugely exciting, this isn't risk free and a few weeks ago four spectators were injured while watching a rally in Scotland. Luckily, the four spectators are now recovering, however accidents like this force people to realise how much risk is involved in a sport such as this.

A subject which has been covered endlessly in the past few weeks is the safety of F1's attendance in Bahrain. In my last post, I stressed how the sport should be removed from the political and ethical motives for not attending the race, and said that the only thing that should be really investigated is the safety at the race. Ultimately, the FIA have taken the decision to stage the race, after being assured that it would be safe and not too much different from normal races. However last night it was reported that a Porsche Supercup team, MRS, had withdrawn from the support race due to their own safety concerns. It was also reported today that team members from Force India were caught up in a petrol bomb incident, prompting two team members deciding to return home based on safety grounds. While the attack was not targeted at the F1 team, it does prompt questions to be asked about how safe people will be travelling to and from the circuit, and no doubt the officials in Bahrain will be forced to step up their security to protect those involved in the race weekend.

So safety in motorsport has a range of facets. Ultimately, it could be argued that the people at most risk are the drivers, and it's down to technology and innovation that they are kept safe. However, there are risks for everyone involved in motorsport, whether you're part of a team of just spectating. Of course, nothing is risk free in life, but for something like motorsport the health of everyone involved should always remain a high priority.

I guess that the danger aspect to motorsport is what makes it a thrill for some people. I posted a while back how I don't like people watching races for the crashes - I stand by this post, as I just don't find it exciting to watch people in that level of danger. As the sport progresses and the great thinkers among those involved look at new ways to protect the drivers we would hope that the risk of injury is decreased. Motorsport's links to the real world automotive industry also mean that advances in safety are likely to be implemented in real cars - protecting ordinary people in their everyday lives - and that can only be a good thing.

Rallying Of Sorts

Last weekend I headed home for my four day Easter break before the start of revision. During my time off, I was randomly browsing Facebook (well, what else is there to do when you're not studying?) when an advert for a rally across Europe popped up at the side of the screen. This got me investigating just how feasible it would be for me to get involved with something like this.

The whole idea of a rally through Europe is to drive your car from home to an end location in Europe across a very short time span, from a weekend to a week. For example, one rally started in France and ended in Italy, driving through several countries along the way. During your trip, you participate in challenges such as wearing fancy dress every day of the event or decorating your car. While this isn't a race, you are able to score points for participating in the challenges and at the end of it all there's the potential to win prize money. Sounds like a hell of a lot of fun to me!

Most of the places I looked at asked you to buy a car for £200-300, or use a car over 20 years old. As we have the trusty Range Rover classic and my awesome Series III Land Rover, the car would be theoretically sorted. So, this would leave me to raise money for entry fees (around £200), fuel (gas for the Rangey, so we'd probably take this car as gas is a hell of a lot cheaper than petrol) and accommodation (apparently around £30-40 a night, depending on where you want to stay). While this probably isn't possible for me to do myself, I got thinking about doing the rally for charity, and getting sponsorship for the event, and should I win any prize money it would go to charity.

In terms of what charity I'd support, the choice for me is simple. If you're not already aware of it, I have a massive interest in neuropsychology and I'm currently studying towards a BSc in psychology and ultimately want a PhD and research career in neuropsychology. As I'm nowhere near patient enough to wait before working in the field, I also volunteer for Headway, a brain injury charity. This charity aims to provide support for people who have sustained an acquired brain injury of some form. I've been volunteering for Headway for around 6 months now, and I've really noticed how much of a difference the charity makes to the clients. So, if I were to rally across Europe I'd be donating my money to these amazing people.

I'm not able to do an event like this in 2012, however I'm looking towards doing something like this either in summer 2013 or 2014. Of course, I wouldn't be doing this on my own, and I'd be taking my Dad along with me, as well as anyone else I could persuade to join me. Now, I'll get to the point: There's no way I can afford this on my own, and if I'm to raise enough money for Headway I need sponsors! If I've sent you the link to this blog, you're either someone who's really interested in motorsport, or someone I consider kind and loving and caring and stuff. So, if you'd be willing to sponsor me for this event - or if you know of anyone else who would - please leave a comment on here or get in touch with me via Twitter. I'm not asking for money right now, I just want to test the waters to see who'd like to sponsor me for something like this. If there's enough interest, then I'll get planning! I'll keep you all updated as to how it's all going, and thanks for reading!

My Own Motorsport

So you all know that I'm an F1 geek, but I haven't actually spoken about my own personal involvement in motorsport. Since the age of 12 I have been driving my Range Rover:

 

From the age of 13 I have been driving that magnificent car in junior off road trials. On my very first trial I came third in the national competition. I continued with my junior trials (Tyro trials) until I turned 17. Once I was old enough to have a provisional license, I started driving in RTV trials - and came third in class in my first ever trial! I enjoy these trials immensely and have a go whenever I can!

Aside from the trials I also drive about in my Land Rover:

I passed my driving test first time, and the car above is my road car - a 1962 Series Landy. It is amazing!!

On my 18th birthday, rather than go out drinking like most people my age, I went on a rally driving course. I was born at 3:45 in the afternoon and at 3:45 on the 8th of May I was performing a handbrake turn in a Subaru WRC car - what a way to start adulthood!